Voting System And Method

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are disclosed for enabling a voter to vote at any single official polling place in the state (jurisdiction) even if it lies outside the boundaries of his local voting location (division of the jurisdiction). The systems and methods disclosed also prevent voter fraud, including a single voter voting more than once, at any polling place anywhere in the jurisdiction.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 12/102,748, entitled: Voting System and Method, filed Apr. 14,2008, now U.S. Pat. No. ______, which is related to and claims priorityfrom U.S. Provisional Patent Applications Ser. No. 60/987,271, entitled:Voting System and Method, filed Nov. 12, 2007, and Ser. No. 60/911,726,entitled: Voting System and Method, filed Apr. 13, 2007, the disclosuresof all aforementioned patent applications are incorporated by referenceherein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosed subject matter is directed to a method for voting andsystems for allowing voters to vote at polling places other than theirlocal assigned polling place, but within the voter's designatedjurisdiction, for example, a U.S. State, as well as systems forpreventing fraudulent voting.

BACKGROUND

The most widespread difficulty that voters face on election day isgetting to their assigned polling places during working hours. It isgenerally the case in all or almost all of the United States' states,federal districts, territories, and possessions, that on election dayeach voter must cast his vote in one and only one unique polling place,that is normally assigned to him based on his residence. Thisrequirement can pose insurmountable obstacles to working people,particularly those who work long hours or commute to work.

Although a voter might spend his entire day at his workplace, he canonly vote at the assigned or “home” polling place nearest his residence,which may be as far away from his workplace as a two-hour commute. Thereis a very good reason that people are required to cast their votes atone and only one unique polling place: the reason is that each precinctrepresents a particular overlapping of multiple jurisdictions. Forexample, a voter in Precinct 00076 and a voter in Precinct 00077 mightlive in the same U.S. House District, the same State LegislativeDistrict, but different City Council Districts; therefore, the Precinct00076 voter and the Precinct 00077 voter must use different ballots onelection day.

Another difficulty that voters sometimes face on election day is thebreakdown of voting machines. When voting machines break down onelection day, voters have no choice but to use paper ballots. Therequirement that each voter cast his vote in one and only one uniquepolling place prevents voters from traveling to other polling placeswhere the machines still work.

In New York (New York in this document meaning the entire state of NewYork including New York City, and is also known as “New York State”)(New York City in this document is the five boroughs of Manhattan,Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx and Staten Island), for example, eachmachine at each polling place is precinct-specific, such that each votermust use one and only one unique machine. If one machine breaks down ata polling place in New York, the voters at that polling place cannot useany of the other machines but must instead use paper ballots. Paperballots are more time-consuming to use, harder to count, and face theadded problem of enjoying a lower level of voter confidence that theywill accurately be counted, if at all.

Another difficulty that voters sometimes face is a statewidedistribution of voting machines that may be inadequate to local votingneeds. It is sometimes the case that one polling place will have morevoting machines than it needs, while another polling place has too few.It is also sometimes the case that one polling place will receive oldervoting machines more prone to breaking down while another polling placewill be stocked entirely by the newest and most reliable votingmachines. The result will always be that a polling place with too fewvoting machines or too many broken voting machines will produce longlines and long waits for would-be voters. Many voters, regardless of thestrength of their patriotism and commitment to voting, will simply beunable, for reasons of health or employment, to spend several hourswaiting in line to vote.

Yet another difficulty that voters sometimes face is the casting ofprovisional ballots at the wrong polling places. Under the Help AmericaVote Act of 2002 (HAVA), a voter who shows up to a polling place, butwhose name is not found on the voting rolls at that polling place, isentitled to cast a provisional ballot. Public Law 107-252, sctn. 302(a).It is sometimes the case on election day that a properly registeredvoter shows up to a polling place other than the one assigned to him. Insuch an instance, the voter's name will not appear on the voting rollsfor the precincts covered by that polling place. Such a voter, althoughhe is properly registered to vote and although his name does appear onthe voting rolls at his assigned polling place (unbeknownst to pollworkers at the polling place where he has mistakenly arrived to vote),will be issued a provisional ballot according to HAVA. But, according toElectionline.org's March 2005 Briefing, published by the Election ReformInformation Project, in the 2004 elections, 28 states did not countprovisional ballots cast in the wrong precinct in 2004.

Still another problem that voters sometimes face is the failure torecord a vote by absentee ballot. Voters sometimes fail to cast recordedabsentee votes for either of two reasons. One is that, althoughprocedures vary from state to state, the difficulty of absentee votingprocedures in some states can lead to high numbers of unrecorded oruncast votes due to improperly completed absentee ballots or improperlycompleted requests for absentee ballots. The other is that people aresometimes called away from home on short notice without foreseeing theneed to request an absentee ballot.

SUMMARY

The voting apparatus and voting method of the disclosed subject matterenables every voter within a given jurisdiction, to use any votingmachine at any polling place within that jurisdiction yet still cast aprecinct-appropriate ballot (or other appropriate ballot for therequisite designated political division), that corresponds to theaddress where he is registered to vote. Throughout this document, theterm “jurisdiction” means a defined political area, for the U.S. orforeign nations. In the U.S. a “jurisdiction”, as defined in thisdocument, would be, for example, a state, federal district, territory orpossession, collectively referred to hereinafter as a “state.” Moreover,for description purposes “jurisdiction” and “state” are usedinterchangeably throughout this document. As a result of the disclosedsubject matter, every voting machine in the jurisdiction or state wouldbe capable of recording votes for any precinct (or other politicaldivision) in the jurisdiction or state.

The voting apparatus and voting method of the disclosed subject matterare designed to overcome several obstacles, typical of current electionpractices. Some of these obstacles are perennial difficulties associatedwith voters' travels to assigned polling places on election day. Othersare difficulties that have been brought to public attention in electionsof the past decade. The voting apparatus and voting method hereineliminates these obstacles as it produces a more reliable counting ofvotes cast than current voting systems allow, prevents the fraud thatsome associate with electronic voting systems, and creates a level ofvoter confidence in the electoral process that is suitable to afunctioning democratic republic.

The voting apparatus and voting method of the disclosed subject matterenables every voter to vote at any polling place in his state yet stillcast the ballot that corresponds to his home precinct. For example, avoter registered and residing in Suffolk County, New York, Precinct01451, but working in Bronx County, New York could visit a polling placein Bronx County (or anywhere in New York) on his lunch hour, yet stilluse the precinct-appropriate ballot that corresponds to his SuffolkCounty home address. For example, this Suffolk County, Precinct 01451voter could vote in Bronx County, Precinct 00231, and vote on a ballotfor Suffolk County, Precinct 01451. The voting apparatus and votingmethod of the disclosed subject matter eliminates the problem ofindividual machine breakdowns by enabling each voter to use any votingmachine at any polling place within the state where he is registered tovote.

The voting apparatus and voting method of the disclosed subject matterallows every registered voter to cast a vote at any polling place in thestate where he is registered to vote. Thus, for example, if a voterfinds the waiting line to vote too daunting at his home or assignedpolling place, the voter is free to travel to another polling placewhich might have shorter lines and properly working voting machines.

The voting apparatus and voting method of the disclosed subject matterprovides every polling place with the voter rolls for the entire state.It also enables each voter to cast a precinct-appropriate ballot.

The voting apparatus and voting method of the disclosed subject matterminimizes the number of voters who fail to cast recorded votes due toabsentee-related issues. Voters who are far from home on election daybut still within the state where they are registered to vote would notneed an absentee ballot. Such intrastate-absentee voters could simplyvote at any voting machine at any polling place within the state. Onlyvoters who are outside the state (jurisdiction) on election day wouldneed to vote by absentee ballot. Accordingly, the system of thedisclosed subject matter reduces the number of voters who need anabsentee ballot, and therefore, increases the number of citizens whosevotes are cast and recorded, ultimately increasing democraticparticipation on election day.

The disclosed subject matter is directed to a method for voting, themethod includes determining the eligibility of a voter to vote in anelection in a jurisdiction, and providing a code corresponding to adivision of the jurisdiction in which the voter is registered, if thevoter is eligible to vote in the election. If the voter is eligible tovote in this election, a ballot, corresponding to the code, is providedfor the voter, from any location in the jurisdiction, the ballotcorresponding to the division of the jurisdiction in which the voter hasregistered.

The disclosed subject matter is directed to another method for voting.The method includes determining the eligibility of a voter to vote in anelection in a jurisdiction. If the voter is eligible to vote in theelection, he is then provided a ballot at any location in thejurisdiction, the ballot corresponding to a division of the jurisdictionin which the voter is registered.

The disclosed subject matter is also directed to a voting system. Thesystem includes a networked portion and a non-networked portion. Thenetworked portion is designed for verifying the eligibility of a voterto vote in an election in a jurisdiction. The non-networked portion isdesigned for providing a ballot at any location in the jurisdiction, theballot corresponding to a division of the jurisdiction in which thevoter is registered, if the voter is eligible to vote in the election.

The disclosed subject matter is also directed to another voting system,that includes a first system and a second system. The first system isfor verifying the eligibility of a voter to vote in an election in ajurisdiction. The second system is for providing a ballot at anylocation in the jurisdiction, the ballot corresponding to a division ofthe jurisdiction in which the voter is registered, if the voter iseligible to vote in the election.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Attention is now directed to the drawings, where like numerals orcharacters indicate corresponding or like components. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of the voting system of the disclosed subjectmatter;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram detailing the check-in and voting processes inaccordance with the disclosed subject matter;

FIG. 3 is a front view of a voting machine of the disclosed subjectmatter;

FIG. 4 is a rear view of a voting machine of the disclosed subjectmatter;

FIG. 5 is a front view of the voting machine of FIGS. 3 and 4 includingthe monitor;

FIG. 6 is a diagram of the components of the voting machine of FIGS. 3and 4;

FIGS. 7-12 are screen displays from various portions of the votingprocess on the monitor of the voting machine;

FIGS. 13A and 13B are paper receipts issued from the voting machine ofFIGS. 3 and 4;

FIGS. 14A-14D are exemplary blank and completed manual or paper ballotsused with the disclosed subject matter;

FIG. 15 is a diagram of a spreadsheet in accordance with the disclosedsubject matter;

FIG. 16 is a flow diagram detailing a process of loading and placinghard drives in voting machines in accordance with the disclosed subjectmatter;

FIG. 17A is a flow diagram detailing a process of obtaining electionresults in accordance with the disclosed subject matter;

FIG. 17B is a diagram illustrating events of the flow diagram of FIG.17A;

FIG. 18 is a diagram of the voting system of another embodiment of thedisclosed subject matter;

FIG. 19 is a flow diagram detailing the check-in and voting processes inaccordance with the embodiment of FIG. 18 of the disclosed subjectmatter;

FIG. 20A is a flow diagram detailing a process of obtaining electionresults in accordance with the embodiment of FIG. 18 of the disclosedsubject matter; and

FIG. 20B is a diagram illustrating events of the flow diagram of FIG.20A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The disclosed subject matter is directed to systems and methods forenabling a voter to vote at any single official polling place in thestate (jurisdiction) even if it lies outside the boundaries of his localvoting location or area (division of the jurisdiction); and controllingthe voting process to prevent fraud, including a single voter votingmore than once.

For example, the system shown in the drawing figures and detailed below,to illustrate the disclosed subject matter, is based upon the systempresently used in New York State. The system can also be adapted for thejurisdictional divisions of all other U.S. States, Territories, Federaldistricts and Possessions, as well as foreign nations.

In the exemplary system, as detailed below, New York State is dividedinto jurisdictional divisions, known generally as “Precincts,” “VotingPrecincts,” or “Election Districts (EDs)”, these terms usedinterchangeably herein. There are presently 16,278 Precincts in theState. New York State also has 62 Counties that contain the 16,278Precincts. There are approximately 3500 Polling Places (PP), numberedsequentially (from 1 through n, “n” being the last number in thesequence for the approximately 3500 Polling Places), that contain all ofthe 16,278 precincts, with the approximately 3500 polling placescontained by all 62 counties collectively. Each Polling Place is thehome or assigned polling place for the voters registered to vote in thecorresponding precincts that are designated for that particular pollingplace, for example, based on geographic location. Accordingly, as shown,for example, in FIG. 1, Polling Place 1 (PP1) (of the approximately 3500or “n” Polling Places in the State), located in County 1 (of the 62Counties), covers Precincts 00001 to 00005 (of the 16,278 precincts),while Polling Place 22 (PP22) (of the approximately 3500 or “n” PollingPlaces in the State), located in County 2 (of the 62 Counties), coversPrecincts 00102 to 00106 (of the 16,278 precincts).

Electronic System

FIG. 1 shows a system 20 in accordance with the disclosed subjectmatter. The system 20 includes terminals 22 at a check-in desk, andcorresponding check-in stations 26. The terminals 22 and check-instations 26 are computers, computing devices, work stations, and thelike, that are linked to a network 30, for example, a wide area networksuch as the Internet, a satellite network, a cellular network, orcombined wired and wireless network, typically through gateways (bywired or wireless links or combinations thereof), so as to be in datacommunication with a check-in server (CS) 34, or other central computer,typically of the Jurisdiction's Board of Elections 35. Once a voter 50,50′ has checked in at a check-in station 26, they proceed to vote at avoting machine 40, in accordance with the disclosed subject matter,detailed below.

The terminals 22 are electronically linked, by wired or wireless links,or combinations thereof, to ballot printers 37, that print manual(paper) ballots, for example, optical scan ballots, and the like. Eachterminal 22 includes a hard drive and/or other hardware and/or software,including interactive storage media, which stores composite visualballot images (ballots) specific to each of the jurisdiction'sprecincts, for example, in New York, the hard drive (and/or the otherhardware and/or software) of each terminal 22 would store ballot imagesfor all of the state's 16,278 precincts.

When desired, the requisite manual ballot will be ordered from theterminal 22 (the election official entering a code or the like) and theelectronically linked ballot printer 37 will print a precinct-specificmanual ballot for the particular voter, should the voter seek to makeone or more write-in selections, or desire a manual ballot, as detailedbelow, or as situations may necessitate. Additionally, a ballot box 37 afor the cast manual ballots is maintained under the security of electionofficials at each polling place, with collection of the ballot boxes 37a and security therefore in accordance with conventional electionprocedures, as detailed below.

FIG. 2, to which attention is also directed, details an exemplaryprocess in accordance with the disclosed subject matter, for voters 50,50′, shown in FIG. 1. For description purposes, two voters 50, 50′,representative of multitudes of voters, are shown in FIG. 1, and will bereferred to generally when explaining the disclosed system and method.Voter 50 represents voters who are voting at their home or assignedpolling place in their home or assigned precinct. Voter 50′ representsvoters who are voting remotely, outside of their home or assignedpolling place, out of precinct. However, for purposes of example andexplanation, the voter 50′ will be referenced to show a voter who votesat a polling place outside of his home or assigned polling place for hisprecinct.

To further illustrate the disclosed subject matter, under presentlyexisting election laws in most jurisdictions, the voter 50′ has his homeor assigned Polling Place (Polling Place 1), based on the precinct inwhich he resides, for example Precinct 00001, in a state (County 1 ofthe state). This voter will receive and vote on a ballot specific to hisprecinct (for example, Precinct 00001). Normally, the voter 50′ wouldhave to vote at this polling place (Polling Place 1, covering Precincts00001 through 00005, in County 1), as only this polling place would havethe correct or precinct-appropriate (precinct-specific) ballot based onhis residence and corresponding voting precinct. In accordance with thedisclosed subject matter, the voter 50′ may now vote at any pollingplace, within the state (jurisdiction), outside of his home or assignedpolling place. For example, voter 50 (whose home precinct is Precinct00001 as per his voter registration) is voting in his home or assignedpolling place, Polling Place 1 (PP1), covering Precincts 00001 through00005, while the voter 50′ (whose home precinct is Precinct 00001 as perhis voter registration) has decided to vote close to his workplace, atPolling Place 22 (covering Precincts 00102 through 00106) in County 2, alocation and polling place outside of and remote to his home or assignedpolling place. The voting process is now described. The voter 50, 50′arrives at the polling place, at block 102. There is an initialprocedure for voters to check in, at block 104. Once a voter 50, 50′ ischecked in, the voter 50, 50′ moves to a voting machine 40, where hevotes.

Procedures for Voter Check-In and Voting

Attention is also directed to FIG. 2. Voter check-in involves check-interminals 22 at the check-in desk, that define the check-in stations 26.Once at the check-in station 26, the voter 50, 50′ identifies himself toelection official 55 by any acceptably defined identifier that theelection authorities of his state (jurisdiction) require. Theseidentifiers, may include, for example, voter registration cards,government-issued identifications, for example, driver's licenses,passports, birth certificates, military identification cards, and thelike. The election official 55 then enters the voter's 50, 50′identifying information into the terminal 22.

The terminal 22, through the check-in server (CS) 34 provides aconfirmation that the voter 50, 50′ is in one of threeclassifications: 1) registered and has not voted in this election; 2)registered and has already voted in this election; or, 3) is notregistered. The election official 55 will discern whether the voter 50,50′ is eligible to vote and in which precinct he is eligible to vote.

If the voter 50, 50′ is registered and has not voted in this election,the check-in server (CS) 34 indicates via an onscreen display of theterminal 22, or the like, that this voter 50, 50′ may vote at thePolling Place, and assigns the voter 50, 50′ a code, corresponding tothe voter's 50, 50′ home precinct. This code is also known as a precinctcode.

If the voter 50, 50′ is eligible to vote anywhere in the jurisdiction,for example, the state, the election official 55 will hand-write on aslip of paper the code for that voter's precinct (hereinafter, the“precinct slip”). The election official 55 will then give the precinctslip to the voter 50, 50′, at block 106.

The check-in server 34 also includes software, that changes the voter's50, 50′ status, to registered and voted, such that the voter 50, 50′cannot vote again in this election. This change is applicable throughoutthe jurisdiction, for example, the state, as the voter's check-in issent over the network to the check-in server 34. The voter 50, 50′ isnow blocked from going to other polling places (PPs) in thejurisdiction. He will not be able to receive another precinct slip witha precinct code and will not be allowed to vote again in this election.The networked aspect of the check-in terminals (computers) 22 providessecurity to the system 20, as it prevents voters from voting twice, andit does so without compromising the anti-hacking security featuresassociated with the voting machines 40 not being networked.

Alternately, should the check-in server 34 return the voter status asbeing registered and voted in this election, or not registered, thevoter 50, 50′ will not be issued a precinct slip with a precinct code.This blockage is indicated at every check-in station 26 throughout thejurisdiction, preventing the voter from going to another polling place,anywhere in the state jurisdiction).

The voter 50, 50′ (determined to be eligible to vote in this election)has now been issued a precinct slip that includes the requisiteprecinct. The voter 50, 50′ now proceeds to the respective votingmachine 40, at block 108. The voting machine 40 includes varioushardware, software and combinations thereof, including processors andthe like for controlling its operations, as detailed herein.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the voting machine 40 includes a front side201 with a screen or monitor 202. Turning also to FIG. 5, selectionbuttons 204, labeled “A” through “I”, are placed horizontally, above themonitor. There are action buttons 206, positioned vertically, andlabeled ENTER, CANCEL, and BACK. The voting machine 40 typically usesonly buttons 204, 206 for entering votes, but may also usetouch-screens. The front side 201 also includes an output tray 207 a,from which a receipt 280 (FIG. 13A) of that particular voter'sselections, precinct, and other information, or 280′ (FIG. 13B, in thecase of a write-in, where the voter receives a manual ballot, asdetailed below) is issued and obtained, and a slot 207 b, into which thereceipt 280, 280′ is deposited, as detailed below.

The rear side 211 of each voting machine includes a door 212, that isaccessible only to election officials. When opened, as shown in FIG. 6,the machine 40 includes a cavity 214 containing a removable hard drive216, on which the votes are recorded, and a receipt box 218, forreceiving the receipts 280/280′ through the slot 207 b. The hard drive216 serves to record all votes placed by all voters who cast their votesat the specific machine 40. The hard drive 216 is discussed in detailbelow.

There is also a printer (not shown) and paper rolls (not shown), onwhich the voting receipts 280/280′ are printed, as detailed in FIGS. 13Aand 13B below. The voting machine 40, in particular, its hardware andsoftware components, and FIGS. 3-5 are discussed in detail below.

When the voter 50, 50′ arrives at the voting machine 40, each voter 50,50′ sees the screen display 220 of FIG. 7 on the monitor 202. Each oneenters his precinct code from the precinct slip by touching therequisite horizontal selection buttons 204, “A” through “I.” Theprecinct code is entered into the box 222 of the screen display 220, atblock 110. For example, for security purposes, the precinct code willtypically not exactly match the precinct number. Thus, every voterassigned to Precinct 00001, for instance, will be given the code HGDBGin order to diminish the possibility of people deliberately castingvotes in the wrong precincts. Accordingly, in this example, the voter 50receives the Precinct 00001 code of HGDBG, as does the voter 50′, votingoutside of his home or assigned polling place, voting in Polling Place22 in County 2. Accordingly, voter 50 and voter 50′, regardless of theirvoting (polling place) location, will see and vote on the same ballotfor their home or assigned precinct, for example, the ballot forPrecinct 00001, detailed below.

With the precinct code entered, and accepted, the voter 50, 50′ touchesthe action button 206 labeled “ENTER.” The voter 50, 50′ may now casthis votes, at block 112. The voter 50 now sees a welcome screen display230 on the monitor 202, as shown in FIG. 8. The screen display 230indicates how many contests and questions he can vote in, e.g., sevencontests and two questions, for his jurisdiction or state, itsdivisions, all the way down to his specific precinct. To continue andmove to the next screen display, the voter 50, 50′ touches the actionbutton 206 labeled “ENTER.”

The exemplary process will now continue with a description for onevoter, voter 50′, representative of all voters, who are voting outsideof their home or assigned polling place. The voter 50′ now receives aballot for his precinct, that corresponds to the precinct code heentered into the machine 40. For example, the voter 50′ voting atPolling Place 22 in County 2, has received a ballot for his home orassigned precinct, Precinct 00001. The ballot is in the form ofelectronic data, as stored on the hard drive 216, and will includesuccessive screen displays for each contest, question and instructionscreen displays.

For example, in this particular election, for a voter, registered inPrecinct 00001, assigned to a home poling place, Polling Place 1 inCounty 1, the voter will see seven screen displays followed byinstruction and/or informational screen displays, as stated here, andfurther described below. For example, this voter 50′ (at a polling placeother than his home or assigned polling place, and here, for example, apolling place in another county) will now see successive screen displaysfor elections for President, U.S. Senate, Governor, U.S. House 12thDistrict, State Senate 52nd District, Mayor, Precinct Supervisor (forPrecinct 00001), Proposition 17 and Proposition 21. These screendisplays will be followed by instructional and/or informational screendisplays, as detailed below.

For example, for voter 50′, an exemplary screen display for a candidateelection or contest is shown in FIG. 9, to which attention is alsodirected. After having made choices in the President, U.S. Senate,Governor, U.S. House 12th District contests, the voter 50′ now sees ascreen display 240 on the monitor 202, for the State Senate 52ndDistrict contest. The ballot 241 appears as the screen display 240 (asthe middle element), with columns 242, for example, for this particularcontest, six columns, each column 242 corresponding to and appearingunder one of the first six horizontally positioned selection buttons204, labeled “A” through “F,” above the monitor 202. Each of the sixcolumns corresponds to a choice for the contest, for example, acandidate name, or an action, such as abstain, write-in or the like. Thetop visual element 244 of the screen display 240 will name the contestor question, for example, STATE SENATE, 52nd DISTRICT. The bottom visualelement 245 of the screen display 240 may be an instruction, for example“PRESS THE LETTERED BUTTON OF YOUR CHOICE”, other informational segment,or the like.

The voter 50′ indicates his vote by pressing the button 204 above thecolumn 242. For example, this voter 50′ has selected JANE AUSTEN, aREPUBLICAN, as shown in the screen display 250 of FIG. 10A. The topvisual element 254 remains the same as the previous screen display (topelement 244). At that point, the lower portion 242 a of the column 242of the voter's choice becomes illuminated and may contain the words,“Your vote for State Senate, 52nd District is JANE AUSTEN.” The bottomelement 255 of the screen 250 will say, “PRESS ENTER TO REGISTER YOURVOTE OR CANCEL TO CHANGE IT.” If the voter 50′ agrees that this is howhe wants to cast his vote, he will press the ENTER button 206. If hedoes not agree that this is how he wants to cast his vote, he can pressthe CANCEL button 206 and try again in this contest.

One column, for example, the column corresponding to the “F” button 204,will always contain the choice to abstain, and when necessary, onecolumn, for example, the column corresponding to the “G” button 204 willcontain the choice to write-in a candidate. If this write-in option, forexample, as represented by the “G” button 204, is activated and acceptedby the voter 50′, the process stops. The voter 50′ will be issued amanual (paper) ballot by an election official. An election official willalso reset the voting machine, and upon being reset, data correspondingto this reset is stored in the hard drive 216 of the machine 40, asdetailed below. For example, as a default, the voting machine 40 can beprogrammed such that pressing the ENTER button 206 before casting a votein a given contest will also register an abstention in a contest orquestion.

With the selection of candidate JANE AUSTEN complete, and the voter 50′having touched the action button 206 labeled “ENTER”, the next contest(slate of candidates), questions, referendums or other voting issues,will appear onscreen. For example, for the voter 50′, successive screendisplays will appear for the elections for Mayor and PrecinctSupervisor, followed by questions, referendums, and the like.

An example of a question, referendum, or the like, is shown on thescreen display 260 of FIG. 11, to which attention is also directed. Thequestion is shown as the middle element 261 on the screen display 260.The upper element 264 is the question, for example, “PROPOSITION 17:STATE BOND ISSUE” and the lower element 265 is the instruction, forexample “PRESS THE LETTERED BUTTON OF YOUR CHOICE”, other informationalsegment, or the like. For example, the voter 50′ touched the button 204,labeled “A”, to vote YES to Proposition 17, the STATE BOND ISSUE.

After the voter 50′ presses ENTER for a given contest or question, thenext contest or question in the sequence will appear onscreen. This willcontinue until the voter 50′ has seen all of the contests or questionsthat his precinct identification allows him to vote in. At the end ofthe process, the voter 50′ will be shown a final screen display 270, asshown in FIG. 12, which lists all of his votes.

At this point, the voter 50′ is given the choice to revise his votes orcast them officially. This can be performed by the voter 50′ pressingthe action button 206 labeled BACK. The screen displays will scrollbackward sequentially every time he presses the BACK action button,until he reaches the screen display with the screen display he wishes toreview or change (revise). The voter can revise his votes by pressingthe requisite selection button 204 (“A” through “I”). He would then moveforward to the final screen display 270 by pressing the ENTER button onall successive screen displays, until he reaches the final screendisplay 270 again. The voter 50′ can also accept his votes by pressingthe action button 206, labeled ENTER, on screen display 270. This actionrenders his ballot as officially cast.

With the ballot officially cast, the voter 50′ receives a paper receipt280, as shown in FIG. 13A, from the voting machine 40, at block 114. Thereceipt 280 lists, for example, the voting machine number, the voter'sprecinct, and the votes cast by the voter 50′, along with any otherpreprogrammed messages, the election board wishes to provide to thevoters. The voter 50′ then places his receipt 280 into the machine'sreceipt box 218 through the slot 207 b in the front side 201 of themachine 40, at block 116. This receipt 280 serves as a back-up, shouldthere be problems with the hard disc 216, or should there be a manualrecount or dispute.

However, returning back to FIG. 9, and block 112, should the voter wishto write-in a candidate for this particular contest, he selects button“G”, the column for a “WRITE-IN” 242 b, as shown by the screen display240′ of FIG. 10B. Once the voter presses the action button 206 labeledENTER, he will see the screen display 290 of FIG. 10C, where he isinstructed to see the Election Clerk or other Election SupervisoryOfficial for a manual (paper) ballot, on which his entire election willbe cast. After a voter has chosen to write in a candidate, he notifiesthe Election Clerk or other Election Supervisory Official 55 of thisdecision. The Election Clerk or other Election Supervisory Official thenprovides the voter with a manual ballot, specific to his precinct(printed in real time from the terminal 22 via the ballot printer 37),and will enter a code into the box 293, indicating that there is amanual (paper) ballot for this voter (as data for this is sent to thehard drive 216). A paper receipt 280′, as shown in FIG. 13B is printedaccordingly, for placement into the slot 207 b, at block 114, and thereceipt box 218, at block 116. With the code having been entered intothe box 293 by the Election Official, the machine 40 returns to thescreen of FIG. 7 for the next voter.

The voter completes the manual ballot. The completed manual ballot isplaced into a secure container for manual ballots, for example, theballot box 37 a, which is maintained by the election officials at eachpolling place. The ballot boxes 37 a are taken as part of the process,detailed below and in accordance with the diagram of FIG. 15, and thesemanual ballots are tabulated in accordance with known electionpractices, and, for example, are typically counted manually (“by hand”),as detailed below.

Alternately, returning to block 104 of FIG. 2, a voter may opt out ofthe process altogether and request a manual ballot once checked in andconsidered eligible for this election. The manual ballot, that isprecinct-specific for that voter, is printed, as detailed above. Oncethe voter completes the manual ballot it is placed into the ballot box37 a as detailed above.

Still alternately, should one or more machines 40 malfunction, or someother circumstance occur necessitating manual ballots, theaforementioned manual ballots may be used.

Examples of manual (paper) ballots are shown in FIG. 14A-14D, to whichattention is also directed. For each election anywhere in the state on agiven election day, the slate of eligible candidates for that electionwould be rendered as a visual ballot element specific to that election.In this document, the “Visual ballot element” refers to the visualrepresentation of each election, e.g. the slate of candidates forGovernor. For example, if candidates Laurence Sterne and Alexander Popequalify to run for mayor of a given city, they would be the candidateswhose names would appear in the visual ballot element for mayor 350. Forexample, for New York, the composite visual ballot image for each of thestate's 16,278 precincts would thus consist of the entire collection ofthe visual ballot elements for all of the elections in which a voter ofthat precinct is eligible to vote on a given election day.

Each of the precinct-specific composite visual ballot images (forexample, in New York there would be 16,278 precinct-specific compositevisual ballot images for each of the 16,278 precincts) consists ofsections, for example, four sections, as shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B. Themanual ballots 301 (FIG. 14A), 301 a (FIG. 14B), may include aprecinct-specific bar code 305 at its top to facilitate automated ballotreading. It may also include the Hindu-Arabic precinct number at its top310 to assist election officials in identifying ballots which may needto be recounted in the event of a contested election that requires somebut not all of the precincts' ballots to be recounted. The bottom of theballot may include a line of data 315 that identified which pollingplace generated the ballot as well as a time and date stamp and a usernumber to show where the ballot fit in the sequence of ballots printedat that polling place on that election day. The differences between theballots 301 and 301 a is that ballot 301 includes a choice for ABSTAIN,while ballot 301 a lacks the choice ABSTAIN, such that an abstention ismade by leaving the entire section blank (a default).

For example, on both ballots 301, 301 a, the uppermost section 320 maydepict all statewide elections, such as U.S. President 340, U.S. Senator342, and Governor 344. The uppermost visual section 320 may appear onevery ballot in the state as it contains the statewide elections. Theupper middle visual section 325 may depict the U.S. Congressionalelection 346 and state legislative election 348 appropriate to theprecinct of each voter's registration. The lower middle visual section330 may depict the municipal and other local elections 350 and 352appropriate to the precinct of each voter's home or assigned precinct.The bottom visual section 335 may depict referendums 354, 356,appropriate to the precinct for the voter's home or assigned precinct.

The ballot 301 is such that there is a space to mark the voter'scandidate or question choice, as well as a space for making anabstention, while in the ballot 301 a, the abstention space is notpresent, such that leaving all of the spaces blank indicates anabstention (a default position). Where necessary in ballots 301 and 301a, there is a space for choosing to write-in a candidate with a line forthe actual written-in name. FIG. 14C shows a sample completed ballot301′, for the ballot 301 of FIG. 14A, while FIG. 14D shows a samplecompleted ballot 301 a′, for the ballot 301 a of FIG. 14B.

In years when there are too many elections or too many candidates to fitthe entire ballot on a single sheet of ballot paper, any of the threesections can be given its own dedicated sheet of ballot paper. Eachballot will otherwise appear on a single sheet of ballot paper.

All manual (paper) ballots are administered in accordance withconventional election practices for manual (paper) ballots. Once eachmanual (paper) ballot is completed, it is placed in the ballot box 37 aof the polling place, in accordance with conventional electionprocedures, and counted manually (by hand), as detailed below. Althoughthe ballots 301, 301 a are optical scan ballots, capable of beingcounted by an optical scanner, reader, other machine or computer, theballots 301, 301 a are also manually countable.

The Hard Drive

The hard drive 216 of every voting machine 40 in the jurisdiction, forexample, a state, is loaded with the same information as every otherhard drive for any given election day. The information stored on eachhard drive 216 includes a large spreadsheet-style document or database(hereinafter, “spreadsheet”), as shown, for example, in FIG. 15, thatincludes the offices, candidates' names, and candidates' partyaffiliations for each contest to be held on a given election dayanywhere within the state. There is also a data storage for indicatingthe number of manual (paper) ballots that replaced electronic ballotsdue to write-ins.

The spreadsheet typically also includes all the ballot questions,propositions, and referenda, and all their possible voter responses(e.g., Yes, No, Abstain) for each question to be held on a givenelection day anywhere within the state. The spreadsheet includesspreadsheet cells for recording how many votes are cast, from eachprecinct, for each candidate in each contest and for each question. Thehard drive 216 is configured with the software necessary to access thespreadsheet and record votes therein.

The hard drive 216 also includes software for operating a visual userinterface that guides the voter through each contest or questionappropriate to his precinct by showing him one contest or question at atime. Each contest or question appears to the voter in a succession ofscreens.

The voting machines 40 are not networked or accessible online. Thismaintains security of each voting machine 40.

Turning also to FIG. 16, election officials inspect the spreadsheet forthe election, at block 402, and certify the spreadsheet, at block 404.The hard drives 216 are loaded with the information, identicalspreadsheets for each voting machine 40, for each election day, at block406. This loading is, for example, manually, through universal serialbus (USB) cables, or other peripheral-attachment means, connected to aserver that is not connected to the internet or any other publicnetwork, at a facility overseen by the board of elections. Thenon-networked aspect of the voting machines 40 assures that the votingmachines 40 are not susceptible to online attacks by computer hackers.Each voting machine 40 stands alone and its voting information must bemanually connected and manually removed before and after voting hours.

Signature forms for the election officials are affixed to the harddrives 216, at block 408. At block 410, the hard drives 216 and paper(typically paper rolls) are installed inside the voting machines 40,behind the door 212.

The Software

Each hard drive 216 is loaded with the same spreadsheet for recordingvotes from every precinct for every local, state, or federal electionand referendum held anywhere in the state. (The machines 40 show eachvoter only the elections and referendums for the precinct in which he isregistered.)

Each precinct in the state has its own row in the spreadsheet. New Yorkis divided into 16,278 precincts. Therefore, voting machines 40 in NewYork would have 16,278 precinct rows. The row heading for each row wouldcontain the five-digit number corresponding to the precinct number forthat row. The row for Precinct 724 would thus have the row heading00724.

Elections and the candidates who run in them will be represented bycolumns in the spreadsheet, as will referendums and their possibleanswers. For every election or referendum, there will also be an Abstaincolumn specific to that election or referendum. For every election heldin the state on election day, the number of columns devoted to thatelection will always equal the number of candidates in that electionplus one column for voters who abstain in that particular election.

For example, if a state has 15 U.S. House districts, each with threecandidates, then the number of columns devoted to all U.S. Houseelections in the state would be 60. For example, as shown in thespreadsheet of FIG. 15, if three candidates run for the U.S. House seatin the 11th District, there would be four columns for that election. Ifthe candidates in that election were Smith of the Democratic Party,Jones of the Republican Party, and Chang of the Green Party, the fourcolumn headings for that election would be H11SmithDem, H11JonesRep,H11ChangGre, and H11Abstain. The rows would correspond to the precincts,of which there are 16,278 in New York.

As voters registered in the 11th District's precincts cast their voteson machines across the state, each machine will record the votes in theappropriate precinct row for each voter, and in the appropriate columnfor each candidate. For example, if a voter from Precinct 00376 (aprecinct necessarily within U.S. House District 11) casts votes forDouglass (Democrat) for Governor, Jones (Republican) for U.S. HouseDistrict 11, and Abstention for State Senate District 23, then thenumber of votes for GovDouglDem, H11JonesRep, and SS23Abstain wouldincrease by 1 vote in each column in the row for Precinct 00376.

When the state board of elections compiles the data from all themachines 40 in the state, the compiled data shows the total number ofvotes for each candidate in each election, as well as each precinct'stotal vote for each candidate in each election in that precinct.

Procedures for Election Officials

Before the hard drives 216 are loaded with the spreadsheet for a givenelection day, the software is inspected, tested, and approved by stateelection officials. Upon approval, each hard drive 216 is loaded withthe same information and software and installed into the voting machines40. The top side of the exterior of the hard drive 216 contains a serialnumber and an index-card-sized sticker with a signature line forelection officials (hereinafter, the “signature form”).

Attention is now also directed to FIGS. 17A and 17B, detailing theprocedure for election officials, once voting is over and the pollingplaces have closed statewide. In FIG. 17B, “n” is the last number of agroup or sequence and “m” is a reduction factor, to reduce “n” by apredetermined number.

At the end of voting hours on election day, and the polling place isconsidered closed, such that no more votes may be cast and no moreballots will be accepted, at block 502, the supervising electionofficial (SEO) at each polling place (PP) 560 turns off the respectivevoting machine 40, at block 504. The supervising election official thentransports the voting information, hard drives (HD) 216, receipt boxes(RB) 218 and ballot boxes (BB) 37 a (illustrated by the trucks 564), tothe nearest office of the board of elections (for example, the CountyBoard of Elections 566 of the County for the requisite precincts,covered by the requisite polling places (PP) 560.

The supervising election official will perform the following steps forremoving and transporting the voting information. First, he will turnoff the respective machine 40 and unlock the machine's locked door(panel) 212, at block 506. Second, he will remove the receipt box 218 ofprinted voting receipts 280/280′. Third, he will detach and remove thehard drive 216 from the machine 40, at block 508, and sign his name onthe signature form associated with the requisite hard drive 216, atblock 510. The supervising election official will then physicallytransport the ballot box 37 a, and the hard drive 216 and receipt box218 (illustrated by the truck 564), to the nearest office of the localor county offices of the board of elections 566 (collectively, the“local board of elections”), at block 512.

Each local board of elections 566 will receive the hard drives 216 andreceipt boxes 218, and ballot boxes 37 a, for all of the polling places,at block 514. At block 516, the local board of elections 566 will thenconnect each of the hard drives 216 to a networked computer, or mastercomputer (MC) 570. Also, any manual ballots (from the ballot boxes (BB)37 a are entered into a computer terminal 576, workstation, or the like,by an operator 578. The computer terminal 576 is programmed, forexample, to tabulate the votes by converting them to ballot (voting)data, and send this ballot data to the master computer 570. The computerterminal 576 is, for example, programmed to control operation of themaster computer 570.

The master computer 570 uploads the spreadsheet and the ballot data to acentral computer (CC) 572 (for example, over the network 30) at thestate board of elections 35, at block 518.

The state board of elections 35 combines and compiles all data,including the votes from all of the hard drives 216 from all votingmachines 40, and the ballot boxes 37 a, as electronically received fromeach master computer 570 of each County (local) Board of Elections 566in the state, to count the votes. This compilation at the State Board ofElections 35, to count the votes, is performed by the central computer(CC) 572, but when necessary, may be performed manually, or manually andcomputerized. The votes are counted to obtain the final electionresults, at block 520. Also at block 520, the election results areannounced to the public. The process ends at block 522, as all harddrives 216 and voting receipts 280, 280′ (from the receipt boxes (RB)218), and manual ballots (from the ballot boxes (BB) 37 a), are sent toa storage facility, such as the state archives, for historicalpreservation and safekeeping.

Electronic System with Optical Scan Ballots

Attention is now directed to FIGS. 18-20B, that detail an alternatesystem 720 and method of the disclosed subject matter. This system 720is similar to the system 20 disclosed above and shown in FIGS. 1-17B,with the differences noted below. FIG. 18 shows the system 720 inaccordance with the disclosed subject matter. The system 720 is similarto the system 20 and similar components have corresponding numbers inthe “700's.” Similar or identical aspects of this system 720 are inaccordance with the descriptions above.

In this system 720, an optical scan modality is used for all ballots.The optical scan ballot is a form of a manual ballot. The two modalitiesachieve the same result, i.e., a statewide all-jurisdictions votingsystem with centralized counting of votes, where voters may vote at anysingle official polling place in the state (jurisdiction), such as oneother than their home or assigned polling place based on theirregistrations.

The system 720 includes terminals 722 at a check-in desk, andcorresponding check-in stations 726. The terminals 722 and check-instations 726 are computers, computing devices, work stations, and thelike. Each terminal is electronically linked to a ballot printer 737,for example, an optical scan ballot printer. The ballot printer 737includes various hardware, software and combinations thereof, includingprocessors and the like for controlling its operations, as detailedherein.

Each terminal 722 is also electronically linked to a network 730 such asthe Internet, typically through gateways, so as to be in datacommunication with a check-in server (CS) 734, or other centralcomputer, typically of the Jurisdiction's Election Board 735. Once avoter 750, 750′ has checked in at a check-in station 726, they proceedto vote by marking an optical scan ballot 301/301 a (FIGS. 14A and 14B),in accordance with the disclosed subject matter, detailed below.

Procedures for Voter Check-In and Voting in the Optical Scan Modality

FIG. 19, to which attention is also directed, details an exemplaryprocess in accordance with the disclosed subject matter, for voters 750,750′, who are registered in Precinct 00001 and vote at Polling Place 1of County 1, their home or assigned polling place. For descriptionpurposes, two voters 750, 750′, representative of multiple voters, areshown in FIG. 18, and will be referred to generally when explaining thedisclosed system 720 and method. Voter 750 is representative of voterswho are voting at their home or assigned polling place, while voter 750′is representative of voters who are voting outside of their home orassigned polling place. Voter 750′ will be referenced as a specificexample of a voter voting out of his home or assigned polling place,that covers his home precinct, and home county, to explain the disclosedsubject matter.

The voting process is now described, with attention to FIG. 19. Thevoter 750′, with an assigned polling place of, for example, PollingPlace 1 (PP1) in County 1, arrives at the polling place, for example, apolling place different than his home or assigned polling place (PollingPlace 22 in County 2), at block 802. There is an initial procedure forvoters to check in, at block 804.

The check-in process for the system 720 is similar to that described forthe system 20 above. Voter check-in involves check-in terminals 722 atthe check-in desk, that define the check-in stations 726. Once at thecheck-in station 726, the voter 750, 750′ identifies himself to electionofficial 755 by any acceptably defined identifier the electionauthorities of his state (jurisdiction) require, as detailed above. Theelection official 755 then enters the voter's 750′ identifyinginformation into the terminal 722, as detailed above.

The networked check-in terminal 722 includes a hard drive which storescomposite visual ballot images specific to each of the jurisdiction'ssubdivisions, for example, if New York, each of the state's 16,278Precincts. In this document, the “composite visual ballot image” refersto the total ballot image specific to each precinct. If the voter 750,750′ is eligible to vote anywhere in the jurisdiction, for example, thestate, as determined from the check-in procedure above, the state, theballot printer 737 will generate a precinct-specific optical scanballot, for example, optical scan ballots such as ballots 301/301 a, asdescribed above and shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B, for that voter based onhis home Precinct. Accordingly, voter 750 and voter 750′, regardless oftheir voting (polling place) location, will see and vote on the sameballot for their home or assigned precinct, for example, the ballot forPrecinct 00001, detailed above, for example.

Once a voter 750′ is checked in, a ballot (such as ballots 301 or 301 a)with bar codes for optically scanning the voter's choices is printed, atblock 806. The voter 750′ receives an optical scan ballot appropriate tothe precinct of his registration, for example, a manual opticallyscannable ballot 301 for Precinct 00001 as described above, and shown inFIG. 14A, from an election official, at block 808. The voter 750′ marksthe ballot 301 to record his voting choices, at block 810, and depositsthe ballot in a ballot box 737 a, at this polling place, for example,Polling Place 22 in County 2, at block 812.

Procedures for Election Officials

Each county board of elections is equipped with an optical scan ballotreader terminal (OBRT) 967 (FIG. 20B) which would include an opticalscanner, for reading the ballots, a hard drive or other interactivestorage media, other related hardware and/or software, and a spreadsheetcapable of recording votes in all elections in all precincts for everylocal, state, or federal election and referendum held anywhere in thestate. Attention is now directed to FIG. 20A and the accompanyingdiagram of FIG. 20B (in FIG. 20B, “n” is the last number of a group orsequence and “m” is a reduction factor, to reduce “n” by a predeterminedamount). FIG. 20B is similar to FIG. 17A, with similar componentsnumbered in the “900's.”

The polling places (PP1 through PPn) 960, that cover all of theprecincts in the jurisdiction, close at the end of the election day, atblock 842. Election officials transport the ballot boxes 737 a (asillustrated by the truck 964) from their respective polling places (PP)960 to the corresponding local board of elections, for example, theCounty Board of Elections 966 for the County in which the polling placeis located, at block 844. Each county board of elections 966 receivesthe ballot boxes 737 a, at block 846.

After all of the ballots for the county have been fed into and read bythe county board's optical scan ballot reader terminal (OBRT) 967, atblock 848, the votes are tabulated (converted to ballot data) in theOBRT 967, at block 850. Also, at block 850, any manual ballots areentered by the operator 978 into the computer terminal 976, where thevotes are tabulated (converted to ballot data). The ballot data from theOBRT 967 and computer terminal 976 is sent to a master computer (MC)970. The master computer 970 uploads all of the received ballot (voting)data recorded in the county to the central computer (CC) 972 over thenetwork 730, to the State Board of Elections 735, at block 852. However,should any OBRT 967 not function properly, the affected ballots may becounted manually (by hand), and entered into the master computer 970,through the computer terminals 976, as detailed above.

The state board of elections 735, at its central computer (CC) 972,receives and tabulates all votes from every master computer 970 of everycounty board of elections, in the state, for every local, state, orfederal election and referendum held anywhere in the state, at block854. All ballots are then sent to the state archives for preservation,at block 856.

While the systems and methods described above, have been shown forjurisdictions, such as New York, this is exemplary only. The disclosureis such that it can be easily modified for the particular jurisdiction,including all U.S. States, Territories, Federal Districts, andPossessions, and all particular jurisdictional divisions of all U.S.States, Territories, Federal Districts, and Possessions. The disclosureis such that it can be easily modified for foreign jurisdictions aswell.

The processes (methods) and systems, including components thereof,herein have been described with exemplary reference to specific hardwareand software. The processes (methods) have been described as exemplary,whereby specific steps and their order can be omitted and/or changed bypersons of ordinary skill in the art to reduce these embodiments topractice without undue experimentation. The processes (methods) andsystems have been described in a manner sufficient to enable persons ofordinary skill in the art to readily adapt other hardware and softwareas may be needed to reduce any of the embodiments to practice withoutundue experimentation and using conventional techniques.

While preferred embodiments of the disclosed subject matter have beendescribed, so as to enable one of skill in the art to practice thedisclosed subject matter, the preceding description is intended to beexemplary only. It should not be used to limit the scope of thedisclosed subject matter, which should be determined by reference to thefollowing claims.

1. A method for voting, comprising: at least one terminal of a networkedsystem determining the eligibility of a voter to vote in an election ina jurisdiction; providing a ballot at any location in the jurisdiction,the ballot corresponding to a division of the jurisdiction in which thevoter is registered, if the voter is eligible to vote in the electionand, at least one machine for recording votes from each executed ballot,the at least one machine separate from the networked system.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the location in the jurisdiction where thevoter is provided the ballot includes a polling place different from thepolling place that the voter is assigned, the assigned polling place forthe voter corresponding to the division of the jurisdiction in which thevoter is registered.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the location inthe jurisdiction where the voter is provided the ballot includes apolling place the same as the polling place that the voter is assigned,the assigned polling place for the voter corresponding to the divisionof the jurisdiction in which the voter is registered.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, wherein providing the ballot includes printing a ballot.
 5. Avoting system comprising: a networked portion configured for verifyingthe eligibility of a voter to vote in an election in a jurisdiction; anda non-networked portion configured for providing a ballot at anylocation in the jurisdiction, the ballot corresponding to a division ofthe jurisdiction in which the voter is registered, if the voter iseligible to vote in the election.
 6. The system of claim 5, wherein thenetworked portion includes a terminal in electronic communication with acentral computer for verifying the eligibility of a voter to vote in theelection in the jurisdiction and providing data corresponding to thedivision of the jurisdiction where the voter is registered; and thenon-networked portion includes interactive storage media configured forstoring all ballots for all divisions of the jurisdiction and forproviding the ballot for the division of the jurisdiction where thevoter is registered in response to receiving the data provided by theterminal, the data corresponding to the division of the jurisdictionwhere the voter is registered.
 7. The system of claim 6, wherein thenon-networked portion provides the ballot electronically.
 8. The systemof claim 7, wherein the terminal generates a code corresponding to thedivision of the jurisdiction in which the voter is registered.
 9. Thesystem of claim 8, wherein the non-networked portion includes at leastone voting machine, the at least one voting machine for housing theinteractive storage media and the at least one voting machine includinga processor programmed to receive the code for the division of thejurisdiction in which the voter is registered and retrieve an electronicballot from the interactive storage media corresponding to the code. 10.The system of claim 6, wherein the jurisdiction includes a U.S. State.11. The system of claim 10, wherein the division of the jurisdictionincludes at least one precinct.
 12. A voting system comprising: a firstsystem configured for i) verifying the eligibility of a voter to vote inan election in a jurisdiction through at least one terminal linked to acommunication network, and ii) providing a ballot at any location in thejurisdiction, the ballot corresponding to a division of the jurisdictionin which the voter is registered, if the voter is eligible to vote inthe election, and, a second system including at least one recordingmachine configured for recording votes from each executed ballot, thesecond system separate from the communication network.
 13. The system ofclaim 12, wherein the at least one terminal is in electroniccommunication with a central computer of the communication network forverifying the eligibility of a voter to vote in the election in thejurisdiction and providing data corresponding to the division of thejurisdiction where the voter is registered.
 14. The system of claim 13,wherein the first system includes interactive storage media configuredfor storing all ballots for all divisions of the jurisdiction and forproviding the ballot for the division of the jurisdiction where thevoter is registered in response to receiving the data provided by theterminal, the data corresponding to the division of the jurisdictionwhere the voter is registered.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein thefirst system provides the ballot electronically.
 16. The system of claim14, wherein the first system provides the ballot by printing a manualballot.
 17. The system of claim 16, wherein the manual ballot isreadable by an optical scanner.
 18. The system of claim 13, wherein theat least one terminal generates a code corresponding to the division ofthe jurisdiction in which the voter is registered.
 19. The system ofclaim 18, wherein the first system includes at least one voting machine,the at least one voting machine for housing the interactive storagemedia and the at least one voting machine including a processorprogrammed to receive the code for the division of the jurisdiction inwhich the voter is registered and to retrieve an electronic ballot fromthe interactive storage media corresponding to the code.
 20. The systemof claim 13, wherein the jurisdiction includes a U.S. State.
 21. Thesystem of claim 20, wherein the division of the jurisdiction includes atleast one precinct.